Giving your time has huge benefits

Healthwatch Shropshire volunteers have given over 1300 hours in the last year to help reach people in the local communities so that their experiences can help to shape the health and social care services that are provided locally.

Fran Robinson volunteered to spend the day meeting young parents and their babies at a Baby Sensory Session where Healthwatch Shropshire was collecting parents’ experiences of the support available for their mental health. Fran explained, “I had an interesting and enjoyable day helping to encourage participation in the Healthwatch survey by the Mum's at the group. As a bonus, I got to see lots of beautiful babies and chat with their Mum's about the real value of their opinions on Maternity Mental Health.”

Chris Knight volunteers as part of the team who visit wards, medical practices and care homes, “I believe that an important way to improve the quality of service in health and social care is to listen and relay back to providers and commissioners the opinions of those individuals experiencing services. Working as part of a team with shared goals is very satisfying.”